What Makes a Family?
by SageK
Summary: How do the people of the Sanctuary deal with a great loss? This story takes place after 2x03, but goes AU from there, so any storyline after Eulogy will be non-canon.
1. First Word

Making a conscious effort to rejoin the day to day functions of the Sanctuary, Dr. Helen Magnus made her way to the small, informal dining room. It was dinner time and, from the smell of things, Bigfoot had made some sort of spicy stir fry. Her stomach gave an encouraging rumble, reminding her that she'd been ignoring the need to eat for far too long.

Since Ashley's death nearly two weeks earlier, she'd been utterly consumed by the idea that perhaps her daughter had survived. Her quest for any evidence to support that theory had superseded any and all hunger pangs.

Thus, she had sequestered herself (though she had allowed Will to lend some assistance) and gone to work. The relocation of numerous Abnormals, something she would have normally carefully supervised, she left up to Henry. Unfortunately, nothing came of her searching and again Will tried to reason with her.

He reminded Helen that they all needed her. That the Sanctuary needed her and she was ignoring them all. No one was asking her to give up on Ashley (though they did hold a memorial), but she needed to stop pushing them all away.

So that was why she found herself entering the dining room and looking around at it's occupants, her friends and staff.

Bigfoot, in a grey, Mandarin collared shirt and vest, was eating and listening to something Will Zimmerman was saying. The young forensic psychologist was gesturing, the gleaming white of his long sleeved t-shirt a startling contrast to the rooms more muted colors. The most recent addition to the team, Kate Freelander, rolled her eyes in an amused manner but didn't comment.

Everyone looked up as she entered and took her seat, accepting the plate of hot, fresh stir fry from Bigfoot. It looked as good as it smelled.

For a moment, the light conversation resumed, before Helen asked, "Where's Henry?"

Henry Foss, the resident computer/tech guru, was nowhere to be seen. Helen knew the young man tended to retreat to his room when his lycanthropy was in a volatile stage, but she thought he'd been doing rather well with that as of late.

At her question, Bigfoot and Will exchanged glances. Never a good sign. Fortunately, Kate lacked their discretion.

"He's in the crypt again," the former Abnormal hunter for hire said, momentarily pausing her food intake.

"The crypt." Helen's heart fell and her hunger faded. "Why?"

Kate shrugged. "Dunno. He just takes his tablet down there to work when he's not dealing with any particular new resident. Weird, huh?"

"Oh, Henry," Magnus breathed, grief filled heart breaking just a bit more. She should have considered how badly Ashley's death must have hurt him. Henry tried to keep up a good front, but her was a sensitive soul and had adored her daughter. Always had.

**_Flashback:_**

Sitting in the mission style rocking chair, Helen cradled her two month old daughter, looking down at her tiny, delicate features and fine blond hair. Ashley was her little miracle, conceived over a century ago and frozen in time until recently, when Helen had decided that it was time. The Sanctuary Network was well established and she had trusted colleagues to rely on, so she felt it safe to take a step back and carry her child to term.

Bigfoot, Michael, her current protégée, and Brian, who made and maintained the Sanctuary's weapons and computers, all doted on the baby. It was all quite adorable to see.

A tiny noise from the doorway drew her attention and Helen smiled at what she saw.

Three weeks earlier, she'd received a communiqué from one of her contacts in Scotland about possible werewolf activity in the highlands and moors. Though she'd been reluctant to leave Ashley, werewolves were an extremely rare species of Abnormal and she was one of the few who possessed any knowledge of how to deal with them. So she left Ashley in the extremely competent care of Bigfoot and traveled to Scotland to investigate.

The dead livestock was a fairly clear indicator and, to Helens' dismay, some locals had set out to track the creatures responsible. Out on the moors, she had come across the bodies of two adult werewolves, a male and a female, each bearing several gunshot wounds. As rare as their species was, losing the pair of them was a tragedy.

As she knelt by the bodies, she became aware that someone was observing her. Glancing around, she saw a small boy, shaggy haired and dirty, crouched by a small mound of rocks. He was shaking and there were tear tracks streaked through the grime on his cheeks.

Her maternal instincts flaring up, Helen approached the boy, who was clearly too traumatized to run. She knelt by him and asked questions, but he didn't respond, never even took his eyes off of the murdered werewolves. Taking in his features, she realized they had been the child's parents. He issued no protest when she gathered him up, only reaching one small hand towards his family in silent plea.

Helen and her local contacts made sure the were pair were given a respectful burial and, when all signs of Abnormal activity in the area dried up, she returned to the United States with the little boy in tow. She simply could not abandon him and knew the poor little dear would have more than a few troubles adjusting to life amongst non weres.

As he was still silent, Helen took to calling her new little charge Henry and gave him the surname Foss, in tribute to the blacksmith whom had forged much of the Sanctuary's ancient iron work. Once at the Sanctuary, Henry quickly took to Bigfoot, showed that his distaste for baths was not merely a reaction to having Helen bathe him and, despite much coaxing, still remained silent.

She postulated that it was possible that were tribes with no interactions outside of fellow Abnormals had little spoken language skills. It could explain why Henry, a slight, somewhat underfed child of about five years, seemed to have no grasp of English or any of the other languages they tried to use to communicate with him. Of course, it was also possible that the death of his parents had traumatized him to the point of muteness.

Even without words, it was clear that he was quite bright, his big eyes always busy taking in the sights around him. He was also exceedingly good at slipping away from whomever was minding him at any given moment. Usually he would be found staring at the mermaid, in the gardens or playing in Brian's lab. Technology seemed to both fascinate and startle the boy.

Tonight he had found his way to Ashley's nursery. Clean and pink from a recent scrubbing, he was dressed in loose, soft flannel pajamas (keeping clothes on Henry was an ongoing battle, but he was very fond of the pajamas), with his newly trimmed hair sticking up in a way that defied gravity and all attempts to tame it. His big, green eyes peered at her and Ashley as he crept quietly into the room.

"Good evening, Henry," she said gently, as he tended to bolt when startled. "This is Ashley. I haven't had the chance to introduce you yet. How are you doing tonight?"

Al the child rearing books she had read indicated that children learned speech from listening to those around them, so Helen and the others tried to speak to the boy as much as possible. So far, she had no idea if it was having any beneficial impact or not.

Henry continued to move closer, so Helen continued, "Ashley was born just over two months ago, not long before I found you. I think the two of you will be able to keep each other company as you grow up. How does that sound, dear?"

Since, despite rumors of the violent nature of werewolves (even when in human form), Henry hadn't displayed any signs of aggression, Helen didn't have many worries about the boy's presence around her baby. Clearly, the boy favored the flight aspect of the fight or flight response.

One of his hands, small with neatly trimmed nails (and, oh, did he _not_ like the nail clippers), reached up and brushed against Ashley's bootie clad foot. In response to the contact, the baby gurgled and kicked her little legs, causing Henry to smile, even as he withdrew his hand.

"That's all right, Henry," Helen replied, shifting Ashley in her arms so that the baby could see the boy's face and vice versa. "Henry, this is Ashley. Ashley, meet Henry."

Ashley continued to smile and burble happily, waving her little arms in excitement over a new face. The little girl liked people and, on the rare occasion Helen took her out of the Sanctuary, she always cooed contentedly when strangers fussed over her.

New people tended to make Henry skittish. The airport had terrified him and Helen was reluctant to push the matter, simply allowing him to become acclimated to the more sparsely populated Sanctuary first.

Again, Henry reached out, smiling as Ashley wrapped one of her tiny hands around his finger.

"Do you have Henry's finger, Ashley?" Helen asked the baby, who gurgled away and squeezed the finger in her grip, pudgy, baby arms flailing.

"Ash."

You could have knocked Helen over with a feather when Henry uttered the first syllable of her daughter's name. It was clear he had made the connection between the word and the girl, a concept they were unsure he was grasping. Over and over, she, Bigfoot, Michael and Brian would hold up objects, name them, trying to prompt Henry to repeat a word, but never found success.

Until today.

"Yes, Henry, this is Ashley! Very good!" His smile broadened and she knew he was responding more to her tone than the actual words, but it made her smile as well. Henry had said his first word.

A half an hour later, Helen laid Ashley down in her crib for the night, kissing her brow gently. Henry peered at her through the bars for a moment, then, before Helen could lead him back to his own room (He really seemed to enjoy his bed), he dropped to all fours and scooted under the crib.

Helen leaned down and peered at him as he turned in three tight circles before curling up in a little ball on the hardwood floor. "Henry, dear," she said, extending a hand to him. "Come out. You'll catch your death on that cold floor."

He made no move to comply, so she simply lifted him up and out as he let out a whine of protest. "Ash," he murmured plaintively and Helen felt rather cruel as she carried him to his own room, but she couldn't just leave him on the floor.

She tucked Henry into his own bed and wished him good night before heading down to her office. Having two young children around certainly made for a rather full schedule and Helen was glad she was used to functioning on little sleep.

Several hours later, when she went to check on Ashley (still sleeping like a log), she found Henry under the crib again. He'd brought a pillow and blanket from his room and was curled up atop the pillow and snuggled under the blanket, sleeping peacefully and soundly.

Since he seemed so determined, Helen decided it wouldn't do him any harm to allow him to stay there for the night.

**_End Flashback:_**

Pushing herself up from her seat, Helen said, "I think I'll go have a word with Henry."

Bigfoot gave a huff of approval and handed her several rolls wrapped in a linen napkin to take with her. Will looked pleased to see her reaching out past her own grief. Kate…well, Kate was still eating, but she was a lot less invested in the interpersonal relationships and well being of the Sanctuary staff. In time, perhaps that would change.

But that a matter for another time. Right now, the object of her concern was in the Magnus crypt, grieving alone.

Time to deal with this.

TBC…..

* * *

Comments, pretty please? This is my first Sanctuary fic and I want to know what everyone thinks!


	2. Day at the Park

The cool, dry air of the crypt was a stark contrast to the warmth of the main house and Helen pondered that fact for a moment. Most everyone on staff at the Sanctuary preferred warmer temperatures, herself included, but Henry's rooms and labs were always kept noticeably cooler, though he often wore thin t-shirts.

His body temperature was slightly higher than that of a normal humans, so perhaps it was a genetic disposition.

But that was besides the point.

Henry was sitting on the marble floor, his back against the wall in which they had placed the mostly empty coffin. His knees were drawn up to his chest and he was hugging them tightly, face hidden and tablet abandoned by his side.

"Henry." She said his name quietly, causing him to lift his head and swipe a hand over his eyes to banish the remainders of tears.

Moving as though to rise, he asked, "Do you need something? I have my…."

"No, no," she assured him, crossing the room and, after a brief hesitation, sliding to the floor by his side. "I just wanted to know how you're doing."

He sighed and looked at her with tired eyes, his face looking far more careworn than his years. True, that was somewhat expected given the taxing nature of his morphological biology, the stress of his job and the fact that he rarely slept unless medicated, but today (and honestly, for the last couple of months) he was looking especially rough.

"How are any of us doing?" he asked in return, shaking his head sadly. "I guess…I guess I just thought…Ashley's Ashley…I…."

His voice broke and Helen took one of his hands in her own. "I know," she said, emotion thick in her words as she forced herself to continue, "We should try to think about the good times."

Henry let out a shaky sigh. "Been trying to do just that, but it's hard."

"Of course," Helen said. It was completely normal for him to be having a little breakdown. He'd had to put it off in favor of handling things around the Sanctuary while she locked herself away and hung on to the hope that Ashley was still alive. "Henry, do you remember going to Dymphna Park? The one with all the playground accoutrements?"

"Yeah, sure," he replied easily, then the corner of his mouth quirked up. "Ash loved that place."

"Yes," Helen agreed, letting her head fall back against the cool marble wall behind her as a memory flooded her mind.

_**Flashback:**_

Sitting on a park bench, Helen watched as Ashley clambered up a ladder that led to the top of a corkscrew slide, demanding, "Catch me, Henry!"

Henry, still a bit small, but otherwise a healthy eight year old, stood at the bottom of the slide already and replied, "I will."

He wasn't the biggest talker, but Helen thought he'd made remarkable progress considering the late start he'd had with languages. At three, Ashley was far louder and more prone to chatter, but Henry was a bit of a sponge, absorbing books at a rapid pace.

She'd thought teaching him to read would have been a far more daunting task, as most children had an established vocabulary prior to learning that skill, but that hadn't been the case. Bigfoot had quickly found that the boy's memory was very sharp and, if shown a word and an object, he'd remember it. The labeling gun had gotten a good work out and now she often found Henry with a book and a dictionary, looking up words he didn't know.

Actually speaking the words, that still took some encouragement, but they were getting there. It was all very promising, as was his keen interest in all things mechanical and computer related.

Ashley was still too young for proper schooling, but she was showing signs of a keen mind. She excelled at strategy games and was currently the reigning Hide 'n Seek champion of the Sanctuary.

Today however was about letting them out to enjoy themselves as any normal child would. Other children romped around the playground, climbing on the equipment, chasing each other and shrieking happily.

At the slide, Ashley tumbled into Henry's waiting arms, gleeful from the trip down. She then towed him over towards the large geodesic dome that had children crawling all over it.

Anyone watching them would never guess that they were anything but a normal, happy (and quite lovely) children.

Ashley was wearing a pair of pink OshKosh B'gosh overalls with a white long sleeved t-shirt, printed with tiny blue butterflies. Her little sneakers had something called a My Little Pony on either side and her long, blond hair was pulled back in two ponytails that bounced around her head.

Henry's jeans were patched at the knees (he still occasionally scooted around on all fours, mainly when playing with Ashley), but he preferred his clothes to be beaten in and, as was his habit, he folded the bottoms of the legs up to form a cuff. By the time he considered his He-Man t-shirt wearable, the logo had already begun to fade from repeated washings. The bright red, bumpered Chuck Taylor's on his feet were a few weeks old and there was a healing scab on his chin from an incident involving Steve and a skateboard. His hair still defied all of Helen's attempts to tame it, but the style suited him.

They were as adorable (more so, if you asked Helen) as any child on the playground.

"How on Earth do you get your boy to play with his sister and not torture her?"

At the question, Helen glanced at the woman sitting on the bench beside her. She'd come to the park with three children of her own, a boy and two girls), who were also at the climbing dome. The boy was clinging to one of the crossbars and sticking his tongue out at the girls, who were too small to climb themselves.

Henry had lifted Ashley up onto the first bar and was standing beneath to act as a spotter while she climbed. Despite being bigger than her and not entirely sure of his strength, Henry had never so much as bruised Ashley, though the same couldn't be said for Ash, whose rambunctious nature often found her leaping off of things to surprise Henry.

"I'm afraid I can't take credit for his good nature," Helen told the other woman, proud that her children were seen as a model of good behavior. Ha! This woman did not need to know about the devilment they could get up to, like last month, when she'd found one of the televisions completely disassembled. "He's always been fond of her."

The harried woman sighed. "Consider yourself lucky…Dylan! Do NOT spit on your sisters!"

Giving his mother a look full of childish attitude, the boy went back to climbing, then looked down at Henry, still standing below Ashley, and said something.

Helen and the boy's mother were too far away to hear what had been said, but Ashley roared, "That's not nice!" and proceeded to take a swing at Dylan.

Unfortunately, that messed with her balance and she tumbled into Henry's grasp. The impact sent them both to the ground, but neither was hurt.

"Ashley!" Helen was up and hurrying over to be sure that they were all right. It was simply the only reaction a mother could have. "Henry, are you two injured?"

"No," Henry assured her, climbing to his feet and righting Ashley, who was already glaring up at Dylan again. "We're fine."

"Well, good," Helen said, dusting them off before turning Ashley to face her. "What have I told you about hitting?"

The mulish pout Ashley gave her promised truly horrible teenage years to come. "No hitting," she mumbled, then pointed at Dylan, who was making faces at her from his perch. "He's a nasty boy."

"Never the less," Helen said, "We do not hit."

Henry stepped in, diffusing what he could recognize as a stalemate between two extremely stubborn personalities. "No hitting. We know."

"All right," Helen said, deciding not to cut short their play time, as they didn't get off of Sanctuary grounds often enough. "Go on and play."

As she made her way back to the bench, Ashley led Henry over to the swings. There was a brief discussion over which swing Ashley would rid and it appeared that Henry won by depositing her into the toddler swing instead of the standard one. She pouted until he gave her a big push, then she laughed, annoyance forgotten.

Smiling at them, Helen knew the other mother was right. She was very lucky to have these two particular children. As young as they were, it was clear they had distinctive, individual personalities that complimented each other positively.

She couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to deal with children like Dylan and his sisters, all of whom were now shrieking and crying as their mother tried to calm them.

All in all, Helen counted this trip as a positive adventure for the children.

_**End Flashback:**_

"We had a lot of fun there," Henry murmured, then actually smiled. "Ash and I drove past there one day and she was so mad that they'd modernized the place. You know, rubber on any sharp edges, sawdust to cushion falls, plastic slides, no more climbing dome. All safety conscious."

"I'd imagine she saw that as taking the adventure out of playground time," Helen chuckled. Even as a little girl, Ashley had been a risk taker.

"Yup," Henry agreed, then raised his eyes to stare at the ceiling. "It's going be very strange here without her."

Giving his hand a squeeze, Helen said, "I know, I know."

It really would be odd…but Helen still refused to give up all hope. There was a chance, no matter how small that Ashley might have survived. She had to believe.

It was the only way Helen could keep going.

TBC….

Comments, pretty please? This is my first Sanctuary fic and I want to know what everyone thinks!


	3. Fair Ireland

"Guh."

The first thought she had was definitely of the ouchie variety. Then came_ 'OW!'_ Followed quickly by_ 'What the hell? Why am I outside…and naked?'_

Nothing was making any sense and her thoughts were a confusing jumble. She gathered all her strength and tried to push herself upright. That didn't work out as she planned and she merely flopped around a bit.

"You know, I wish I could say you're the oddest thing I've found on my lawn, but honestly, not even top five."

Struggling, she managed to turn her head. A woman was crossing the dewy grass, a steaming cup in one hand. As she got closer, she shrugged out of the hoodie she was wearing and held it out. "Here. Come on then, let's get some clothes on you."

A few minutes later, wrapped in warm sweatpants that matched the hoodie, she sat in the woman's kitchen, trying to collect her scattered thoughts. The red head looked at her with a raised brow and asked, "So, who're you?"

"I…have no idea. Everything's just a big mess in my head."

"Must've been one hell of a drunk. I'm Darcy. Darcy Darby," the redhead said easily, sipping from her drink. "From the sound of you, I'd say you're American…or Canadian, but this is Donegal, Ireland. I'd say, given your memory loss, hospital would be a good idea, but given the storm they're probably a bit crazy now."

"Storm?"

Darcy grimaced slightly. "Big electrical storm No one knows where it came from. Very mysterious. Mobile and land lines are still down."

"I feel like I should remember, like there's something just beyond a…a veil."

"That must be quite disquieting," Darcy said with a concerned frown. "I have a…friend who's a doctor and he should be stopping by sometime soon, so he'll take a look at that head of yours, see if you bumped it."

At that moment, a small, fluffy dog came scampering into the room. Darcy scooped the tiny ball of fur up into her arms and said, "This is Andraste. Seven pounds of fur and attitude, but she loves everyone."

Darcy handed her the dog, who proceeded to jump to lick her face. It tickled. "Hey there, aren't you just a cute little thing…"

They say that before your death, memories of your life flash before your eyes, but apparently it can happen for other reasons.

_**- Flash - **_

Standing in front of a glass enclosure, looking down at a pair of adorable, fuzzy creatures.

Someone beside her, a warm, familiar presence. "I gotta admit, your Nubbins are amazing."

"Don't you just want to squeeze them?"

Well, a bit of innuendo there….

_**- Flash - **_

A dark tunnel. Two others with her. A boy with some sort of nasty tentacle protruding from his chest.

The tentacle lashing out.

Knocking someone out of the strike zone.

_**- Flash - **_

A woman, dark haired, sprawled on the floor, tears in her eyes.

"Ashley!"

Mom….

_**- Flash - **_

"Are you okay?"

She blinked at Darcy and said, "Yes. Yes, I remember now."

Surprised, her host blinked. "Brilliant. Who are you, then?"

"Ashley Magnus." That was her name and it felt good to say it.

"Magnus?" Darcy said, straightening and looking her straight in the eye. "As in Helen Magnus?"

Ashley regarded the other woman with a bit of suspicion. "Yeah, she's my mother," she said, keeping up a front of bravado. She felt, in this situation, with her memory still a little hazy, that it was an appropriate response.

"Oh dear," Darcy sighed. "Well, this is unexpected."

Hackles up, Ashley demanded, "Why?"

"Because, word around the community is that your dead. And if Torchwood's been let in the know, then you've been thought gone for some time now."

Torchwood. Ashley sighed in relief. That particular organization was considered an ally of the Sanctuary Network, if an odd one. They were like the eccentric cousins in the abnormal community. "I didn't know you folks had a base in Ireland," Ashley commented idly.

"We just got the power grid functioning two weeks ago," Darcy said, rising and gesturing for Ashley to follow her. "With 1 and 3 destroyed, 4 still missing and 2...well, let's just say we needed to re-establish a functional post."

The basement Darcy led her to looked ordinary, but, when the Irish woman opened the fuse box and flipped several of the levers in sequence, the floor, or rather a 5x5 section of the floor, suddenly began to drop.

"No gothic castles for us," Darcy quipped as Ashley surveyed the cavernous room. She could see work stations and labs and two men glancing up from whatever they were doing, only to be waved away by Darcy. "We tend to take the underground part of our mandate literally since the disaster in London."

"Pretty impressive," Ashley said, and it was, but she disliked the place. Something about the sterile looking lab she'd seen made her heart race and her palms sweat.

"Like I said, normal comm lines are down," Darcy continued, seeming almost a different person in this environment. It was clear she was in charge. "That being said, we have our ways. Would you like me to get McRae on the line? I believe he's the interim head of the London Sanctuary."

"Yes, please."

Ha! Who said Ashley Magnus had no manners!

* * *

As of late, Declan McRae's job had consisted mainly of damage control and playing political chess with the remaining staff from the besieged Sanctuaries. Some of them were already making it clear that they felt they should be put in positions of power once repairs or new facilities could be arranged. Terrence Wexford was being an especially pushy ass about that.

All in all, he couldn't wait until someone was appointed as the head of the London Sanctuary, as he was finding it a daunting and thankless task.

Whenever he had to place a call to another Sanctuary, it seemed it was either to ask for help or warn of some impending crisis. Not exactly a positive association and now to add to that, he kept fielding calls from Abnormals whom were all freaked out over the crazy electrical storms.

But today, the call he was going to make to Helen Magnus's Sanctuary would be a pleasure to make.

Sitting in his offices, alive and well and, according to a battery of tests, completely free of the mindfuck the Cabal had saddled her with, was Ashley Magnus.

Exactly how she'd wound up in Ireland, at a Torchwood facility of all places, was still unclear, but Darby thought it might have something to do with their power grid and the electrical storms. That made some sense to Declan, especially when one considered Ashley's teleportation abilities.

But he was fairly certain the whys and hows were going to be far less important than the who when his call reached Helen.

* * *

Comments, pretty please? This is my first Sanctuary fic and I want to know what everyone thinks!


	4. Reunion

"No, that's a Class 3 Cytocystian life form."

Kate looked at Will and sighed. The classification system for Abnormals was a lot more intricate than the one she'd known as a hunter for hire. Then again, she'd always been better with numbers when they were given a practical application and value.

Meaning money.

"Whatever. It's happy in the forest enclosure, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah," Will replied, knocking on the door to Helen's office. "But that's not the point. If we don't properly ID our residents, we could end up housing non-compatible Abnormals together."

Rolling her eyes, Kate pushed open the door. "Everyone's cranky down there. We're totally overcrowded."

Will followed her in. "I'm not really concerned about overcrowding, I'm worried about an accidental predator/prey dynamic…and Magnus was supposed to meet us here."

Not seeing the other woman, Kate shrugged. "Guess the meeting…."

She was cut off when the door, left ajar by their entry, was flung open and bounced off the wall as Henry hurled himself into the room, wild eyed, shouting, "Doc!…Damn it!"

"She's not here, Henry," Will said in a soothing tone, clearly trying to placate the computer tech, whom could see Magnus wasn't present.

Henry didn't even acknowledge them, just tipped his head back slightly and sniffed as though scenting the air, pivoted and took off like some sort of track star.

"Weird," Kate muttered as she exchanged a look with Will and trotted out into the hall just in time to see Henry rounding the far corner. "Damn, someone lit a fire under Hank!"

"Yeah," Will agreed, breaking into a run to follow Henry. Kate beat him to the corner and, though Hank wasn't anywhere in sight, one door was slowly swinging shut.

"There," she pointed as Will caught up and she saw a light go off behind his eyes.

"That leads to the tower," Will groaned and, when they entered the stairwell, Kate understood why. Looking up was almost enough to give her vertigo, just flight after flight of stairs that seemed to go on forever. Hank was already at least a dozen flights up and still sprinting.

"Maybe we could just wait till he comes down," Kate suggested, not liking the idea of climbing all those stairs. Not that she couldn't, she just didn't want to waste all that time and energy…and why the hell wasn't there an elevator?

Will just sighed and said, "It looks a lot worse than it is. Come on."

Grumbling, Kate began the trek, noting that the walls weren't even marked with helpful and encouraging numbers like office buildings were. Nope, it was just one long, boring upward climb and she was definitely feeling it in her quads and gluets by the time she and Will stepped into the fresh air at the top of the tower.

Helen and Henry were standing together, the latter holding up his tablet so it could be used for a video conference. Both had tears on their cheeks. A young woman's voice was coming from the computer's speakers and, for a moment, Will froze.

The he was back in motion. "Ashley?" He darted over, pressing in close to see the small screen.

"Hey, Will." Kate heard the voice say. She'd never really had the chance to meet Ashley Magnus, but from the reactions of those who had known her, this seemed to be the real deal.

So now people were coming back from the dead. Considering the general atmosphere of weird that this place was rocking, she couldn't really claim to be all that surprised.

Helen was saying, "We'll ready the jet and be in London by morning. Would you like me to bring you anything special?"

"Some of my own clothes would be awesome," came the reply. "Oh, my leather motorcycle jacket."

Kate didn't think she'd ever seen Magnus smile like she was now doing. "That describes about a dozen of your jackets, dear," she said and Henry let out a little huff of a laugh.

"The one with the star sewn on the inside of the left sleeve?" he said lightly.

"That's the one," Ashley replied and Kate moved around to get a better view of the screen. In the background behind the younger Magnus, she could see Declan McRae and a red haired woman watching the proceedings.

Helen and Henry continued to chat with Ashley as they headed back towards the stairs and Kate groaned.

She was totally bringing up the elevator concept at the next staff meeting.

* * *

As a rule, the Magnus women weren't the type to be physically affectionate with each other. At least, not since Ashley had hit puberty and her independent streak materialized overnight. Hugs became a rear commodity and kisses were strictly verboten.

But the whole back-from-the-dead thing seemed to override years of established behavior.

The moment Helen Magnus entered the London Sanctuary, Ashley found herself crossing the atrium at a sprint and throwing her arms around her mother, who was more than willing to hug her back.

A keen observer, Ashley took in a few details. Mom looked tired, more so than her usual lack of sleep brand of tired, and she looked and felt like she'd lost weight since the last time Ashley could recall seeing her.

The moment her mother released her, Ashley was surprised by the force of Henry's embrace. He pulled her close and she smiled, hands finding purchase on the back of his vest. He too looked tired, frayed around the edges and she gave him an extra tight squeeze when the stubble on his chin tickled her neck.

Will's hug was briefer, but clearly he was relieved to see her in one piece.

It was good to see them all.

Bigfoot wasn't made for travel, but she'd spoken with him while the others were in transit. He and a new girl named Kate had stayed behind to oversee the Sanctuary. She couldn't wait to get home, even if it meant facing all the craziness Declan and the Big Guy told her about.

Declan had arranged some rooms for them and once another round of hugs had finished, Ashley led them there to talk. McRae was busy himself, as was Darcy, gone back to Ireland, but each had left some data and test results for Helen and Henry, knowing , at some point, one of them would want to figure out how she had survived.

But for now, she was pretty sure they were all just happy to be together.

TBC…..

Comments, pretty please? This is my first Sanctuary fic and I want to know what everyone thinks!


	5. Night Owls

A week home and Ashley was already _so_ tired of the over protective, clingy thing her mother had going on. Sure, she understood Mom's reasoning, but a little space would be nice.

It wasn't like Ashley was insisting on going out on any solo hunts, she knew her strength wasn't back up to snuff yet, but she was perfectly capable of meeting with an arms dealer or two. But no, Mom sent Kate off to do that.

And sent Ashley and the others off to bed to 'rest'. She wasn't alone in giving Mom the hairy eyeball over that decree. Bed at 11 pm.

Yeah, like that was going to happen. She couldn't even recall a time since her teens when she'd been able to sleep before 2am. Hell, since hitting adulthood, it was more like 5am, 'cause Abnormals and arms dealers tended to be more active at night.

But Mom seemed to be attempting to set some sort of normal schedule, a weird reflex to all the craziness and chaos, especially since they'd never actually had a normal schedule. For now, Ashley guessed she'd just humor Mom, 'cause she'd been through a lot of stuff lately.

No way in hell was she just going to lay around in her room though.

Mom, Will, Big Foot, even Kate…they were treating her with kid gloves and, though she really didn't feel quite like her normal self, it was getting on her nerves. She'd caught Henry watching her with concerned eyes, but at least he was trying to act like he didn't want to coddle her, with the exception of hiding Cadbury Chocolate Bars in her room.

It was a thing between them, ever since they were little. If she was feeling down, Henry would sneak her the good chocolate and if he was blue, she'd make a special run to the store for Sour Cream and Onion Pringles. Which they would proceed to hide in each other's rooms.

Actually, a visit to Henry's room sounded like a good idea.

Grinning, Ashley went over to a particular piece of molding and pushed, causing a hidden door to slide open. When she was old enough to want to leave her nursery, her mother had allowed her and Henry to select whatever rooms they liked. Of course, they had chosen two that were connected by one of the 'secret' passageways.

As children, they'd thought it was their secret (of course, as adults, they knew there was no way her mother was not aware of the tunnel). At some point, the passages lost their allure, but now Ashley chuckled as she crept through the dusty space. Reaching the end of the journey, she pressed on the panel, causing a section of wall to slide away.

"Boo!" she called out teasingly, stepping out of the dust and into the clean clutter that always seemed to take up most of Henry's room.

"Ash?" When Mom had sent them to their rooms, Henry had simply shrugged and taken his tablet with him. Which was how Ashley knew he'd definitely still be awake.

Proving her right, Henry was laying on his bed, barefoot, in cargo shorts and an old t-shirt (his typical lounge attire), tapping away on his computer. He was as much of a night owl as she, from both habit and his werewolf nature.

Avoiding a bin of what looked like the insides of a computer, she crossed the room and flopped onto the foot of his bed. "I'm so bored," she announced and stuck her tongue out when he chuckled at her.

"Oh no," he quipped, setting the tablet aside and grinning down at her. "Bored…we wouldn't wasn't a repeat of the cupcake incident of '05, now would we?"

She snorted. "Blow up one batch of cupcakes and they never let you live it down."

"There was cupcake embedded in the ceiling. The Big Guy went through, like, four spatulas trying to undo that damage. We had to scrap the oven entirely!"

"Haha," she retorted, poking the bottom of his foot and grinning as he yelped and yanked his leg back. He'd always been ticklish and she had years of practice hunting down his every sensitive spot.

Unfortunately for her, Henry also had a lifetime of anticipating her tickle attacks. "Don't even think about it," he told her, pulling his legs away from her fingers.

Ashley rolled up onto her knees, grinning and ready to pounce. "Aw, C'mon, Henry. Bored, remember."

Tossing a random graphic novel in her direction, Henry said, "Then read or something. Don't take it out on me!"

That sentence sobered her, no matter that it had been said in jest. "Hey, Henry, can I ask you something?"

He clearly sensed her shift in moods, his amused but wary expression falling away. "Yeah, Ash, of course."

She scooted up the bed to sit cross legged beside his knees, still facing him. "I don't really remember what the Cabal did to me. Not after they drugged me…Um, they showed me a video feed before that and I just…Did they hurt you?"

She couldn't meet his eyes as she asked that question. After all, the only reason they'd been there was because she'd thought she could handle infiltrating the Cabal HQ. Henry had gone with her as back up. If they'd hurt him, then it was her fault.

"They mostly wanted to make me transform," he said, laying a hand atop hers. Ashley wound her fingers around his, taking a little comfort in their warmth. "On the plus side, I got some practice controlling…my inner wolf. They flushed the meds out of my system and things were so hectic, I went days without them. 'Course, I also didn't sleep, but now I'm down to recommended dosages and it's working fine."

"Silver lining," she said, forcing a smile. They'd wanted to force a transformation from him, which more than likely meant they'd caused him a lot of pain, but, since he wasn't mentioning it, she didn't want to push it.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Still no memory from the brainwashing?"

Her mom asked her that several times a day. So did Will. Then they'd follow up by trying to jog her memory. It was getting really old.

"No," she said, then frowned. "Sometimes, I get…I guess vague impression would be the only way to describe them, like the echo of a memory. I hate it."

Henry nodded and squeezed her hand, and impulsively she moved, settling herself against Henry's side, tucking herself in close to him as she had so many times when they were younger.

"I know I did things. Things I would never do and, even though I can't really remember, I feel so guilty, like I should have been able to fight off whatever they did to me. Not knowing is almost the worst part."

For a moment, Henry was quiet, then he wrapped an arm around Ashley. "The first time I transformed, I couldn't remember taking that snake out the window. Now, things are fuzzy and some of the impressions don't make sense, but I can understand why you wouldn't like that sensation."

She nodded, worrying the hem of his shirt between her fingers before asking, "So, what were you working on? New weapon, maybe?"

He laughed and she didn't bother to hide her smile. Her long standing love of the toys Henry made dated all the way back to a potato gun he built at age 12. Mom and the Big Guy had been both mad and impressed.

"Air filtration system for my lab, actually," he admitted, sounding oddly bashful. "Just some small adjustments."

"Why?" she asked. It was an idle question, as it wasn't odd for him to fine tune systems.

"The truth," he sighed, then tapped his nose with one finger. "Will's a great guy but…he needs to lay off the Axe Body Spray. It makes my eyes water."

Ashley couldn't help it. She burst out laughing and buried her face into Henry's shoulder in an attempt to muffle the giggles. "You're redesigning our air filtration system 'cause Will smells bad?"

Henry shrugged. "It's not so much a _bad _smell, exactly, just really strong."

"Poor Henry," she said, releasing his shirt to rub his stomach soothingly. He gave a little appreciative hum and, feeling especially impish, she gave a tug to the barbell that passed through his navel. "So, I've been gone for a while. Any new body mod or art that I don't know about?"

He let out a huff of a laugh. "Who said you knew about all of it to begin with?"

That made her lift her face to peer at him. "You holding out on me, Foss?"

"A guy has to have some secrets," he snickered, to which she retaliated by digging her fingers into his flank. He yelped again and, after a brief tussle, managed to trap her hand in his own. Of course, if she'd wanted to, she could have pulled free, but she was content to let him win this round.

For now.

"Hey, do you remember that trip to the water park, when I was like thirteen?" she asked, grinning up at him.

He groaned. "You mean the time you used the unfair tactic of looking at me with those huge blue eyes and going, 'Pleeeaaase, Henry! Pretty please!' to get me to drive you and that gaggle of vacuous, pubescent, future Paris Hilton wannabes to the water park."

"Hey! I never said pretty please and, okay, so those girls could have given a harpy lessons, but cut me some slack. It was Mom's idea to try to socialize us by tossing us into the public school system at 12 and expecting us to just make nice with the locals," Ashley protested with a grimace. "What the hell did I have in common with other girls when I was that age? Nothing."

When they were small, Mom had home schooled them, but had decided to enroll Henry in school at 12, in an attempt to improve his social skills. He'd been horrified and 7 year old Ashley had been furious and insisted she be allowed to attend as well. It had been one of the earliest epic battles between mother and daughter and in the end Helen compromised, promising that when Ashley reached 12, she'd get the chance.

For years, Henry tried to dissuade her with tales of soul crushing monotony, sub par academics and the insanely caste like structure of the student body, but she would not be deterred.

Quickly, she learned that the majority of pre-teens and teenagers were horrible little balls of hormones and attitude. Also, she might not have made the best impression when she punched a boy in the throat when he bumped her in the hall. In her defense, he had copped a feel, but no one at the school seemed to care about that.

As much as Ashley wanted to believe she was above caring what others thought of her, at 13, she'd wanted some friends. So, she'd gotten Henry to drive her and several other girls to a water park.

At first, things had gone pretty well, as the other girls had been quite impressed by Ashley's 'brother', whom they had deemed "kind of musician/geek hot, like Oz on Buffy". They had no idea how apt that analogy was.

But all those girls had wanted to do was lay in the sun, ogle boys and gossip. When Ashley expressed an interest in actually going into the wave pool and riding the water slides, they had mocked her.

After an hour of that, she'd dumped a Blue Icee over the head of the Alpha bitch and the three nasty girls scrambled, shrieking for their phones to cry to their mommy's for rides home.

Spending the rest of the day with Henry had been much more fun. They both got thoroughly pruney and sunburned and she had been shocked to find that he'd had his nipples pierced, something mom had, at that point, no knowledge of.

It had been one of their secrets.

Over the years she knew he'd added a naval piercing and two tattoos to his collection. She'd even gone with him to the tattoo parlor when he'd had the sunburst inked on his calf. Now he was alluding to having had even more than she knew of and, by process of elimination, she could guess where he'd been pierced…if he wasn't just messing with her.

"You were the one who insisted on going to school, Ash. And trying to befriend those…people," Henry commented, pulling her out of her trip down memory lane and subsequent digression into pondering piercing.

"You know they thought you were a hottie," she teased and grinned at his amused bark.

"So I was a hit with the Skipper set. Too bad nothing in the Barbie family ever appealed to me," he said, letting his body relax and slump down more comfortably on his pillows.

Ashley smiled. "Not into plastics?"

"Nope," Henry agreed. "Gimme a real woman any day."

Laying her head on his shoulder, she sighed. "Good to know there are still some guys like you out there, Henry."

He made a noise she wasn't quite sure how to interpret, but she found her eyes growing heavy and tried unsuccessfully to hold back a yawn. Hmmm, maybe she was more tired than she thought.

Henry stroked her hair for a moment and her eyes drifted closed as she enjoyed the gentle touch and his familiar presence. "Gonna crash here tonight?" he asked, sounding fairly worn out himself.

"Mmmm," she murmured the affirmative, not even really aware as he snagged a light blanket and pulled it over them before turning out the bedside lamp. It had been years since she'd shared a bed with Henry, but it had also been a long time since she'd been this comfortable.

From the way his breathing slowed and the sleepy, snuffling noises he made, she was pretty sure Henry agreed.

TBC….

* * *

Comments, pretty please?


	6. Morning

Sitting in her office, Helen Magnus sipped from a fresh cup of tea and stared out the window, watching the sun traverse the early morning sky. The leaves on the trees were nearly all vibrant shades of red, orange or yellow, speaking of the changing seasons. Winter would be upon them soon, bringing with it ice and snow, which would make reconstruction difficult for the demolished Sanctuaries in the Northern Hemisphere.

Still, she couldn't find it in herself to worry too much about such things. For a time, she'd thought her daughter lost and now Ashley was back, whole and healing and to be anything but overjoyed seemed nearly ungrateful.

Perhaps, when she had to travel oversee the reconstructions, she would take Ashley and Henry with her, like she used to when they were small. Thinking of those days always made her chuckle.

_**Flashback:**_

Helen entered the main atrium of what was soon to be the Madrid Sanctuary. She held tightly to Ashley's right hand and, in turn, the little girl clung to Henry's.

For the trip, Helen had managed to fight Ashley into an adorable, blue, cotton sundress and white sandals. Her blond braids, tied with blue ribbons, bounced on the shoulders of her lightweight, white sweater. Henry wore khaki, chino pants and a white, cotton shirt, recently purchased, but made soft by dozens of trips through the washer. His gravity defying hair and big green eyes had the flight attendants cooing over him before he surrendered to the allure of drug assisted sleep on the plane.

She'd always believed exposing children to new cultures and experiences was all a part of creating well rounded individuals, so, when it came time to do spot checks at other Sanctuaries, she took the children along with her. Ashley was too young for proper schooling and she'd been home schooling Henry, so she had no worries about him falling behind in his studies.

Plus, she wasn't too keen on the idea of leaving them at home while she traveled.

Ashley's bright eyes took in everything around her, grinning at everyone and asking a constant stream of questions. She had been delighted by the trip and tried to tell their driver all about her adventure, much to the man's amusement.

Conversely, Henry was still feeling the effects of the anti-anxiety meds he required to travel. Not the most talkative child, he had been fairly silent, sleeping on the plane and napping on the car ride to the Sanctuary. Now he was starting to wake up, but he was clearly thrown by all of the new faces, most of whom were speaking Spanish. Over the past 4 years, he'd come to have a good grasp on English, but they had yet to begin his foreign language education.

To her surprise, by the time they left Spain, two weeks later, both children had picked up a good deal of the local language.

_**End Flashback:**_

Neither Henry or Ashley ever considered themselves to be linguistically inclined, but, by adulthood, each could conduct themselves passably in half a dozen languages.

"Helen."

She spun, surprised by the voice behind her, knowing she'd been alone. But John was prone to pop in and out of places using his teleportation abilities…which, their EM shield should have rendered useless.

"John," she greeted him with a smile. Though their relationship was one filled with years of conflict, she was in no frame of mind to deal with their…colorful past. "You've been out of touch for weeks."

He was typically grim. "You know I was dealing with the remains of the Cabal."

Though she didn't normally condone John's more murderous habits, she couldn't bring herself to even attempt to dissuade him from seeking revenge on those whom had come so close to taking her daughter from her, permanently.

"There have been some developments…Ashley is alive, John!" she told him rapidly unable to keep the glee out off her voice.

He stared at her, like perhaps he thought she'd gone crazy. "Come again?"

Helen shook her head and said, "Follow me."

In short order, they were at Ashley's door and Helen knocked, before calling out, "Ashley, are you up?"

There was no answer, so Helen opened the door to find an empty room. Her heart fell for a moment before she assured herself that Ashley was indeed fine, just not in the room.

From his concerned expression, John took the empty room as confirmation of his crazy!Helen theory. How messed up was it that Jack the Ripper was concerned that she might be having a psychological break.

"Obviously, she's up," Helen told him, stepping out of the room as Will exited his own suite, at the far end of the hall. "Will, have you seen Ashley?"

The profiler shook his head, eyeing John warily. "Not since last night, sorry."

John's eyes widened at Will's confirmation of Ashley's presence. The tall man looked from Helen to Will and back. "Ashley…is alive?"

"Yes," Helen said and Will confirmed her words by nodding agreeably.

"How?" John asked breathlessly, then looked around the deserted halls. "Where is she?"

Will glanced towards Ashley's door, but Helen shook her head. "Already looked in there."

"Maybe the gym or the TV room," Will suggested with a shrug.

John made a sound that indicated his discontent, but Helen laid a hand on his arm. "I think I know where to find her," she said, leading the way to the staircase and descending a floor. "I don't think Ashley spent more than half her childhood sleeping in her own room."

She rapped on a door, one floor below and one room to the left of Ashley's. From within came Henry's voice, disgruntled and heavy with sleep. "Wha?"

Helen smiled. "Is Ashley in there with you, dear?"

"I'm sleepin'!" Ashley's reply made it clear that she was indeed in Henry's room.

John stepped forward as if to enter the room, but Helen stopped him with a raised hand. It would startle them unduly to have john stomp in on them while they were totally unprepared. "Ashley, your father is here to see you."

The response to that was a series of audible thumps, rustling and grumbles before the door flew open, revealing a sleep rumpled Ashley, adorable in penguin print pajama pants and a tank top, and Henry, sporting a truly impressive example of bed head and wearing massively wrinkled lounge clothes.

Ashley blinked owlishly at John. "Hi," she said agreeably enough. Her confusion was understandable, as she was probably uncertain as to what his mindset was today. Good or evil. John Druitt of Jack the Ripper…or some amalgamation of both.

Moving as though to embrace the girl, John settled for patting her shoulder when Ashley tensed. "It's good to see you," he told her and the honest relief in his voice made Helen smile. Perhaps there was some chance of John and Ashley having some form of quasi-functional relationship.

"Good to be back," Ashley replied, as, further down the hall, Helen heard a whistle.

Kate, coming up one of the stair cases, had heard them and stopped to investigate. The hunter eyed John and, stopping by Will, asked, "Did something get out of the SHU?"

Clearly the woman had an instinct for identifying dangerous Abnormals. John glared out of the corner of his eye, so Helen said, "Kate, this is John. Today, he's a guest."

"Okay," she said, clearly not buying that, but looked past them and smirked. "Morning, Ashley, Hank. Just getting up?"

Henry gave Kate an exasperated look while Ashley just said, "Yeah…_Hank_?"

"I don't know," he muttered, never a happy camper in his pre-caffeinated state and Helen took pity on him.

"Why don't we let you two dress and then meet us in the dining room for a bit of breakfast," she offered and was pleased that Ashley smiled and Henry nodded in relief.

"See you soon," Ashley replied, stepping back into Henry's room and closing the door. Helen knew she'd make use of the passage back up to her room and emerge in fresh clothes.

As Helen led John, Will and Kate off towards the dining hall, John asked, "Is our daughter sleeping with the werewolf?"

Behind them, Will choked at the blunt question, but Helen merely raised a brow in John's direction. "You've never met some of her past boyfriends. She could do a lot worse that Henry."

Not that she thought there was anything untoward going on between them, or, if there was, that it would actually be untoward at all. But she didn't want to get John worked up. He simply frowned and, after a moment, he agreed, "I suppose."

"Wait!" Kate exclaimed, suddenly drawing everyone's gaze to where she stood, wide eyed and stunned. "Are you telling me Hank's a werewolf?"

Clearly, this was going to be an interesting breakfast.

* * *

The first rays of sunlight streamed in through Henry's wide open window shades, waking Ashley after far too little sleep. She'd forgotten that her friend actually liked sleeping in the warmth of the sun's rays, even as he kept the room itself a little chilly.

Ashley had room darkening shades in her own suite.

Laying there, she decided it wasn't so bad. She was still curled up on Henry's bed, under the soft comforter and wrapped up in his arms. At some point, they'd shifted and ended up spooned together, legs entwined and his soft breath tickling the back of her neck. One of his arms was draped over her waist and she'd caught that hand, drawing it up to tuck under her chin with her own.

Since waking up in Ireland, Ashley had committed herself to paying attention to the little details of the world around her, so she'd never have that empty, lost feeling again. Most of the time, there was so much going on, so much thrown at her that she didn't have a chance to be as thorough as she liked.

But here, in the silence and peace of Henry's room, she had nothing but time. Strike that. It wasn't silent. The hum of various machines and the small rotary fan created a nearly imperceptible white noise. She wondered if Henry left them on for that purpose.

She'd known he was a werewolf for years and, at some point in her early teens, had read up on his species. According to all of the books, werewolves were violent, dangerous creatures (a stereotype that had been proven sometimes right by the den of feral werewolves she and mom had tried to keep from terrorizing a village. Those weres had been nasty). Henry however, he was sweet and gentle. He was the brains to her brawn.

Not that he was incapable. Once, when she had been a freshman in high school, he'd shown up to give her a ride home, only to find two of the varsity football players making some really rude comments to her. She'd learned her lesson in middle school and their words were not worth getting in trouble over. If they tried to touch her, then all bets were off and she'd take the punishment for breaking their arms.

Henry hadn't felt the need to hold back and, when he cussed them out, they had laughed. After all, the shorter of the two had about 6 inches and maybe 70 lbs. on Henry. Clearly, they hadn't felt threatened by him and the shorter idiot made a comment about using Ashley's ponytail as a handle to aid in certain nasty acts.

Normally easygoing Henry responded by punching him in the throat, which dropped him, then slamming the other boy into the wall with a hand around his neck. Ashley was sure it was the first time she'd ever actually heard Henry snarl.

Needless to say, for the rest of her high school career, she'd been given a respectful distance by even the dumbest of jocks. Still, displays like that always seemed to leave Henry shaken. He didn't like when his more animalistic side reared its head.

So yeah, she knew the books made note of the enhanced senses of weres. Henry had told them about the sense of smell, but she wondered about sight and hearing, taste and touch. The hunter in her thought those traits would be such an asset in the field.

The calm, rational, empathic person inside her reasoned that they must also make daily life a bit difficult. Like with Will's cologne. Something she barely noticed was enough of an irritant to drive him to redesign the ventilation system.

Smiling sleepily, she wondered what he thought of her scent, which was probably an combination of Dove soap, rose water cream, deodorant and fabric softener. Perfumes were not ideal for a hunter such as herself, so she never gotten into the habit of wearing it.

As he was happily snuffling against her neck, she figured he didn't mind the way she smelled. In fact, he pulled her a little closer and she felt heat flood her cheeks as her bottom came into contact with a part of Henry's anatomy that she generally did not encounter. Not that she was vain enough to assume it had anything to do with her, he was a guy and it was morning, so Little Henry (who really did not feel so little) was making an appearance.

Still, it was nice and. Normally, she would have assumed she'd feel odd, finding herself in such a position, but there was nothing uncomfortable about it. Definitely something to think about.

To her non-protean nose, Henry smelled nice too. Warm and earthy, with an underlying hint of the woods and, funnily enough, cinnamon. Or maybe that was some sort of memory association. He used to chew on cinnamon sticks when they were little, but seemed to have kicked that habit while they were in their teens.

Surrounded by his warmth and smell, Ashley slipped back into a peaceful sleep, the sun not even factoring into the equation, though she knew it would have driven her crazy were she in her own room. But now she was content and happy to curl up against Henry.

The next thing she knew, there was someone knocking on the door, startling both of them awake. Henry made an annoyed, whining noise, face buried between his shoulder blades. His voice was muffled when he called out, "Wha?"

He wasn't at his most articulate during the early morning hours. Once, she'd seen him trying to peel a softball, thinking it was a grapefruit.

"Is Ashley in there with you, dear?"

It was her mom. Great. Ashley didn't really want to get up and Henry seemed to agree, burrowing closer to her. "I'm sleepin!" she shouted, hoping her mother would leave them be. After all, she was the one who kept insisting Ashley needed to rest.

"Ashley, your father is here to see you."

Well, there went the possibility of drifting back off to dreamland. Nothing to shake a person back to reality like a visit from her reformed (she was assuming that was still the case) homicidal father.

Disentangling herself from Henry, Ashley staggered out of the bed with a groan and looked at the comfy mattress and warm blanket with longing. On the other side of the bed, Henry was doing the same, though he tripped over something and spent a few seconds scowling at the floor.

Pulling the door open, Ashley found herself face to face with her mom and dad, Will hovering somewhere behind them.

Blinking at her father, who was looking reasonably benign, she said, "Hi."

The large, bald man smiled and stepped towards her, arms coming up for a hug. She tensed, unsure if she was quite ready for that sort of a display of affection from him, but he seemed to sense her hesitance and merely patted her shoulder. Behind her, Henry touched her back, his steady presence reassuring.

"It's good to see you," her father said. He truly seemed to mean it, which was kinda nice. If he was still on the wagon and not falling back into his old habits of gutting prostitutes, then maybe they had a chance of developing some kind of healthy rapport.

"Good to be back," Ashley replied, just before a loud whistle filled the hall.

Kate had arrived and, after giving Druitt the once over, she asked, "Did something get out of the SHU?"

That was blunt and pretty funny. Though she hadn't gotten a chance to know the other hunter, Ashley had the feeling they'd get along pretty well. Either that or they'd try to kill each other.

Mom simply looked at the other woman and said, "Kate, this is John. Today he's a guest."

What mom wasn't saying was there's a chance John could go off the rails and on a kill happy rampage, but there was really no polite way to bring that up in conversation. Someone would just have to fill Kate in on the complicated story of John Druitt later.

"Okay," Kate shrugged, then her eyes lit on Henry and Ashley and a smirk lit up her pretty face. "Morning, Ashley, Hank. Just getting up?"

Answering for both Henry and herself, Ashley replied, "Yeah…_Hank_?" What was that? Henry never went by Hank. Never. Even when she was a baby and couldn't say Henry, then she'd managed Henny.

Behind her, Henry just mumbled, "I don't know." Still barely awake.

"Why don't we let you two dress and then meet us in the dining room for a bit of breakfast," Mom said, much to both Ashley and Henry's relief. Ashley because it ended this little hallway rendezvous and Henry because it brought him to a coffee pot.

Shuffling back into the room, Ashley said, "See you soon." before closing the door.

After a moment, she heard their footsteps disappearing down the hall. Henry was eyeing his bed with something akin to longing, so she reminded him, "Get dressed. There'll be coffee at breakfast."

That seemed to boost his energy a little and he wandered over to a dresser as she opened the passageway. "See you at breakfast," she said, then turned and shook a finger at him. "If you beat me down there, don't Bogart the bacon."

Henry looked up from shaking out a shirt, one he seemed to have folded using the crumble-in-a-ball-and-shove-in-drawer method, and smiled. He really did have a nice smile and the bed head just made it cuter. "Dude, Kate's the one you have to worry about. Girl can eat. It's really impressive."

Ashley just smiled and shook her head, but as she stepped into the passage, she wondered at the niggling little feeling of jealousy she felt over Henry expressing admiration for the other woman. This was…all right, not entirely new, but damn it, she was used to being the girl! During her absence, with the addition of Kate, there had been a small shift in the dynamic of the Sanctuary staff.

Up till this point, Ashley had just been happy to be home, but now she thought it was totally time to get to know her new co-worker.

TBC….

Comments, pretty please?


	7. Bonding

Entering the shooting range, Kate took a moment to observe Ashley Magnus as the blond emptied a clip into her target with incredible precision. Round after round ripped through the kill zone, echoing through the room.

It was the first time she'd seen Ashley in action since the girl had returned and it was…pretty bad ass. As was the big, honkin' gold gun the younger Magnus was wielding so efficiently. As soon as she took a permanent position on the staff, Kate had decided to familiarize herself with the extensive armory, but she'd never seen that amongst the racks of shiny, deadly toys.

When the echoes stopped ringing through the room and Ashley removed her ear protectors, Kate approached. The automated system returned the used target to Ashley and Kate let out a low whistle. "Nice grouping."

It was an honest compliment, as not even one shot had strayed from its mark.

If Ashley was surprised by her presence she didn't let it show. Glancing over at Kate, she gave her a little smile and said, "Thanks."

Not exactly an effusive answer, but Kate plowed on. "So, what're you up to today?"

"Not much." She sounded utterly bored and Kate could empathize. Magnus still hadn't cleared her for the field and that had to be driving her crazy, even if she wasn't at 100% yet.

Kate nodded and offered, "Yeah, seems like a pretty slow day. Hank even dragged Will off to help him with a project."

Again, Ashley frowned when Kate called Henry Hank. Clearly, someone wanted to establish her territory, but for some reason she didn't. It seemed kind of silly, especially considering everyone had seen that the blond had spent the night with Hank.

Unless…huh. These people were even more emotionally retarded than she thought.

"Henry," Ashley made sure to emphasize his name, "has lots of projects."

Kate grinned at her. "Ah, but from the sound of things, this one involve manual labor. Wanna take advantage of what could be the last warm day of the season and go watch them dig up a power cable."

Ashley gave her a funny look. "Why?"

Clearly, Ashley Magnus was desperately in need of a girl friend. "Cuz hot, sweaty men working in the yard are fun to ogle…and I'm thinking Will's hiding a body under his dorky clothes."

That caught Ashley's attention. "You like Will?"

It was true, Zimmerman was a cutie and Kate would definitely consider going there, but she said it mostly to put Ashley at ease, let her know she had no designs on Hank. 'Cause whether Hank and Ashley knew it or not, there was definitely something between them. "Will is certainly nice to look at."

Straightening up her weapons, Ashley nodded. "Okay, it's not what I'd normally do, but okay."

Twenty minutes later, armed with bottles of iced tea, a radio and two towels, Kate and Ashley stretched out on a patch of lawn not too far from where Will and Henry were working. It wasn't warm enough for swimsuits, but the girls changed into shorts and t-shirts to take advantage of the nice day.

As they settled in, the guys stopped what they were doing and Will teased, "Thanks for the help."

"Wouldn't want to bruise your egos by offering," Kate countered, stretching out and offering him a grin.

"I'm still on the injured list, or I'd help," Ashley protested, propping her chin up on her hands to look over at Henry. "Why'd you bury that cable?"

The tech paused his digging and swiped a hand across his brow. "It provides the power to the defensive perimeter and sensors on the fence. Anything above ground is too vulnerable to attack and weather issues."

Ashley grinned. "Like the blackout in '90?"

"That's right," he replied, shaking his head ruefully before starting to dig again.

For the next hour, the guys alternated working with light banter and the girls sunned themselves and enjoyed the views. After a while, Ashley turned to Kate and murmured, "This was a good idea."

"Glad you agree," Kate replied, then raised an appreciative brow as Will finally gave in to the heat and shed his shirt. True to her assumptions, the profiler did indeed have a hot little bod on him, although he was almost shockingly pale. A few minutes later, Hank followed suit, his skin slightly darker and, surprise, sporting several glinting piercing on his torso.

Clearly, Ashley saw her take note and laughed as Kate quipped, "Always the quite ones, huh?"

Continuing to snicker, Ashley pointed out, "Henry's not exactly quiet…anymore."

"Just saying, around here, there's usually way more to people than meets the eye.""Very true," Ashley said, sipping her iced tea. "Very true."

* * *

Turning away from the window with a smile, Helen crossed the office and took a seat at her desk. Paperwork had taken a bit of a backseat in recent weeks and it was time to get back on top of things.

She was glad the younger members of the staff were taking advantage of the less than hectic day. It looked like Ashley and Kate were bonding, something she had hoped would happen, but feared would not. After all, both young women were aggressive, brash, strong, Alpha females. Either they were destined to hit it off or try to kill each other.

And Helen was pleased to see neither of them looking murderous. Growing up in the Sanctuary had not allowed Ashley to have the most well adjusted social life. Aside from the residents and odd arms dealer or informant, Henry had been the girl's only friend.

And clearly, he was still closest to her. Perhaps the two of them would even become more, a possibility she'd seen coming for some time. From a purely objective stand point, it would be beneficial for them, as they could both be rather high strung. As a mother, she just wanted them to be happy and was certain they would be a good match.

Smiling, Helen opened a report and sighed. Interviews to find a new head for the New York Sanctuary were not going well at all.

* * *

Comments, pretty please?


	8. Taking the Next Step

"Trying to sneak up on me, Ash?"

Henry's question made Ashley smile and she stopped tiptoeing, attempting to surprise him. "Guess I'm gonna have to come up with some new trick, huh?" she asked with a smile. She'd always made it a habit to keep him on his toes with sneak attacks, but as he was getting better at using his senses, she'd have to up her game.

Of course, she had some new skills of her own, she just wasn't too thrilled with the idea of using them too often.

Putting down the circuit board he was soldering, Henry spun his chair to face her. "Guess so," he grinned. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure? Wanna hit the streets?"

Last night had been Ashley's first hunt since returning to the Sanctuary. It had been a pretty standard grab of an Issirian Monkeyfish. Everyone had worked together like a well oiled machine and she had to admit she was thrilled to be back in the game. The darker impulses of her Cabal experience were still there, but well within her ability to control.

So last night had been awesome and she had discovered that, at some point during her absence, Henry had started wearing a thigh holster in the field. She had no idea how she hadn't found out about that little nugget of knowledge, 'cause it was totally relevant to some of her interests.

"Nah," she replied, hopping up to sit on a small bit of open counter space, swinging her feet idly. He watched her move, then glanced away, finding something of interest amongst his many projects.

To her, it seemed that Henry had finally realized she was a girl sometime around her 20th birthday. She'd known he was a guy - a hot guy - since about 13, but the age difference had been enough that it would have been totally creepy if he'd felt the same and Henry was definitely not a creep.

He'd put up with her pestering him in his lab or rooms for years, rolling his eyes in fond exasperation, being her supportive friend and confidant. That hadn't actually changed much, except for the fact that she'd catch an occasional glimpse of _something_ in his eye, something that made her heart beat a little faster.

Something that made her think he'd come to see her the way she saw him, felt the way she felt.

Since returning, she found herself spending most nights in Henry's room, wrapped in his arms, feeling safe and loved and…increasingly _aware_ of him.

A sleepy hand brushing down her arm sent shivers through her body and this morning she'd woken with one of his thighs clenched between her own. It had taken a lot of will power not to rub up against him till he woke and then just jump on him.

And it turned out she wasn't being vain, thinking his morning happy had something to do with her. Yesterday, when she'd rocked her hip back into him - _Accidentally_ -, he'd groaned and murmured, "Ash."

It was torturous, but in a totally good way.

"Just here for a visit then?" he questioned, then brightened. "Wait! Got something for you."

He rose and crossed to one of the other tables, selecting an item. "It's a little old school, but sometimes the classics are awesome."

"A grappling gun!" she exclaimed delightedly as he brought it over to her. He stopped by her knee as he laid it in her hands and she happily examined it. After a moment, she carefully set it aside and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him in close for a hug.

"Thank you, Henry. I love it," she breathed, well aware that her actions had drawn him to stand between her parted knees. His arms came up, wrapping around her body, one hand trailing along her spine and a shiver ran through her.

Without pulling away, Henry asked, "Cold?"

Though it was clearly a rhetorical question, Ashley replied, "No," turning her head so that her nose nuzzled against his cheek. His late night stubble tickled and she smiled.

Henry turned into the touch, stopping when they rested brow to brow, noses brushing, sharing breath. One of her hands cupped the nape of his neck while the other smoothed over his shoulder and came to rest on the firm plane of his chest, feeling the strong thump of his heart under her palm. His hands were equally mobile, one falling to her hip, thumb brushing the small strip of skin exposed above the waist of her jeans as the other caressed her back, ghosting sensitive fingers over her shoulder blades.

Mouth feeling suddenly dry, she ran her tongue around her lips, wetting them. Henry's eyes ticked downward and he drew a breath, pupils dilating. In the visible iris, she saw small flecks of gold appear amidst the green and she wondered if there was a hint of red haze in her own.

Yeah, this wasn't going to be the most normal relationship, but Dude, he was a werewolf and she was the genetically manipulated offspring of Jack the Ripper and an eternal mother. They just didn't do normal.

With the slightest movement, she leaned forward, bringing their lips together. For a moment, Henry stilled before tilting his own head slightly, sealing their mouths and bringing a hand up to cradle the side of her face. She enjoyed the feel of his lightly callused fingers stroking over her cheekbone, the line of her jaw and sighed softly.

Changing tactics slightly, she drew his bottom lip into her mouth, worrying it with her teeth and she delighted at the growl that action drew from him. Henry's hands dropped to her hips and drew her more closer, an idea Ashley was wholeheartedly behind and she wrapped her legs around him. The close contact caused them both to moan and she took advantage of that opening, darting her tongue forward to duel with his.

She really wasn't sure how long they sat/stood there, kissing fervently, hands exploring and bodies, separated by layers of fabric, rocking together. Tightening her thighs around his hips encouraged another sexy growl and she grinned when one of his hands slid down, fingers venturing into the back of her jeans.

"Oh God! Sorry!"

_DAMN IT! _Ashley felt Henry stiffen and he broke the kiss, but, to her surprise and pleasure, did not step away from her. Instead, he twisted to look over to where an embarrassed and dumbfounded Will was standing with Kate, who shrugged apologetically.

"Magnus is looking for you two," the dark haired woman said, then caught Will by the arm to drag him away. "Also, not the most private place for that."As they disappeared, Henry turned back to Ashley, who had to smile at the still dazed and aroused look on his face. His lips were pink and kiss swollen, pupils ringed in solid gold that slowly faded back to green as he took several steadying breaths.

Smiling, Ashley grabbed Henry's hands, leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on his mouth. "I guess we'd better see what mom wants," she said, reluctantly unwrapping her legs from his waist. "Even though I'd rather not."

He nodded, stepping away to allow her to hop off of the table. Fingers winding through her own, he said, "I just need a minute."

Ashley glanced down, noting that his loose cargo pants didn't disguise his current dilemma and she couldn't help but feel a thrill, knowing she had caused that reaction in Henry. "Okay," she said, raising a free hand to straighten her hair. "We'll just continue this later."

He gave her a look she could only describe as puppy dog eyes and nearly whimpered, "Not helping, Ash."

Grinning, Ashley squeezed his hand and hoped whatever mom wanted wouldn't take very long. She had plans for the rest of the night.

TBC….

* * *

Comments, pretty please?


	9. Emotion in Motion

Unfortunately, Mom's plans did not involve letting them retire for the night. Instead, she sent Ashley and Kate off to Old City, to do some recon on a group of Abnormals reportedly engaging in gang like activities. Will was to assist her in interviewing their informant while Henry was tasked with deciphering the zip drive the man had brought with him.

Actually, a pretty typical night by their standards.

It was after 4am when they got back from the city, covered in some nasty crap that they'd ended up falling into while taking cover in a dumpster. Not pleasant.

After making a report to mom (Yes, the Abnormals they had seen did appear to be up to something sketchy) Ashley and Kate parted ways, heading off to their own rooms to wash off the muck.

Peeling off her jeans and top, Ashley contemplated them, considering what to do. A part of her wanted to try to save the shirt, 'cause she liked it, but considering the state it was in, it might just be simpler to burn it along with pants. With a shrug, she stuffed everything into a hamper, then darted into her bathroom to wash off the worst of the grossness.

As she stood under the warm spray, she paused, hand on her shampoo bottle, struck with an impish impulse. Turning off the shower, she rushed from her room to Henry's via the secret tunnel.

His suite was still empty, which was fortunate, 'cause she was pretty sure Henry would be shocked to see her pop, wet and naked, out of the wall. Padding barefoot into his ensuite bathroom, she flicked on the overhead light and looked around.

It wasn't the first time she'd been in the room, but what always struck her was how neat Henry kept the place, especially when contrasted with his cluttered room and lab. The white tiles were spotless and the pewter fixtures gleamed. The closet behind the door held a stack of freshly laundered, neatly folded towels. On a shelf above the towels sat a small basket containing a shaving kit.

Struck by a curious impulse ( after all, Henry didn't usually look like he bothered to shave every day), Ashley peered in to the basket. The Norelco electric shaver wasn't a big shock, but he also had an old-fashioned, metal Parker butterfly razor, which she figured he must only use on those rare occasions when a close shave and was needed. A bottle of John Allan's Slick Water and two tubs of Proraso (one a shaving soap for ultra sensitive skin and the other pre/post shave cream) mingled with the razors.

Besides shaving kit sat to simple black comb and an orange and black tub of Alterna Hemp Sheer Pomade, the odorless he used in his hair.

Moving on, she considered the counter, bare but for a pump bottle of Dove hand soap and a toothbrush holder containing his blue Oral B. Behind the near was the medicine cabinet and, biting her lip, she flipped the door open.

On the bottom shelf, the first thing that caught her eye was the old-fashioned, blue and yellow tin of Clovertine Salve that Henry used on his hands. It didn't prevent or even reduce his calluses, but he claimed to like the texture. Beside it sat some very typical items, tweezers, a nail kit, q-tips and several prescription bottles. Those she had no interest in, as she knew what they were.

The next small shelf held mouthwash, toothpaste and dental floss, all from Tom's of Maine, in the same company that manufactured his deodorant ( unscented) which sat in the middle of the top shelf beside a small bottle of Oak cologne in a bag. Upon closer inspection, she realized the bag had been vacuum sealed to create an airtight bubble around the bottle to contain the scent.

She drew breath as she noticed the final item in the cabinet. It was a small jar of Rose Water Cream, her jar in fact. When she'd returned after everyone had thought her dead, the jar had been missing. She hadn't thought anything of it, but the fact that Henry had taken it, to keep a piece of her scent with him, caused her to become a little choked up.

Blinking back a tear, she closed the cabinet and, setting a clean towel on the counter, stepped into the shower, intent to surround herself with the smell of Henry's bath products. She turned on the water and gazed at the shelf built into the back wall. Hers was full of bottles and jars and tubes. Henry's held three things and a loofah.

Puzzled, she picked up the Mason jar, then grinned when she realized it contained sugar, apple juice and cinnamon sticks. A great natural exfoliant and the probable culprit for his cinnamony scent. The shampoo and body wash were both unscented, but infused with St. John's Wort, the labels claiming they helped lift moods while calming and balancing the user.

Only Henry would bother to track down body products that contained herbal antidepressants. It made her smile.

She made use of the shampoo before dabbing on a bit of the sugar mixture and scrubbing her face, arms, décolletage and legs. The body washed rinsed away any lingering granules and she quickly dried off, using the towels to wick most of the moisture from her hair before combing it out.

A swipe of deodorant and a little Clovertine worked into her palms and she deemed herself done. Exiting the bathroom, she crossed to Henry's dresser and pulled open the T-shirt drawer. Rooting around for a moment, she closed her fingers on a worn, gray shirt with the words bJack Me back Into Time/b written across the front.

Slipping the garment over her head ( the hem barely brushed the tops of her thighs), she inhaled, smelling Henry on the fabric. Still smiling, she flipped off the big lights and sprawled on the bed, settling in to wait for Henry to finish his work.

She figured he couldn't be that much longer. After all, it was almost sun up already.

* * *

It was a quarter past five by this time Henry wandered towards his room. The living quarters were mostly quiet and as he passed various rooms he could hear the sounds of his colleagues sleeping. In her room on the floor above, Helen is still moving around her suite. Bigfoot's snores were loud and clear to Henry's sensitive ears. After a long day, he was ready for the soothing white noise of his room.

Sipping from a small carton of Horizon Vanilla Milk (Sure, not the most macho bedtime drink, but it coated his tummy and made taking his meds easier), he let himself into his room, closing the door and pausing just inside. The room was dark, but his eyes were far sharper than those of any normal human, much like his ears and nose.

He could hear Ashley's soft, sleepy breaths, see the rise and fall of the blankets she had cuddled under. The layers over her essential Ashley smell were different and he realized she smelled like him. A slight hint of moisture in the air gave away the fact that she'd used to shower.

Suddenly he didn't feel so exhausted.

As he stood there, just watching her, she stirred, sensing his presence. Between his werewolf senses and the hyper awareness left over from the Cabal's experiments on her, there was definitely not going to be a lot of Guess Who? type games in their relationship.

"Hey," she greeted him, voice heavy with sleep as she stretched. "What time is it? I was waiting for you."

"5:15," he told her, swallowing when he noticed she was wearing one of his T-shirt. Considering her height, that was an appealing idea in so, so many ways. "We should probably get some sleep."

Honestly, he'd like to pick up where they left off earlier.

She smiled at him. "I think you should take off those clothes and come to bed."

All the blood left his brain, rushing sounds at her statement and he gaped. "God yes," he replied, then waved vaguely in the direction of the bathroom. "Lemme…"

She nodded and he darted in, using the facilities, washing his face and giving his teeth a quick brush. Stepping back out into the bedroom, he toed off his sneakers and socks, dumping the latter into the hamper. He heard Ashley climbing out of the bed in padding over towards him as he undid the button and zipper of his cargo pants, letting gravity take over from there. As he dropped them into the hamper, arms snaked around his torso and he felt her mould her body against his back.

Again he was hit by the heady combination of their mingled scent and he drew in a deep breath. One of her hands crept under his shirt to smooth across his abdomen, fingers toying gently with the barbell that passed through his naval. She kissed the side of his neck and that was enough to spur him to turn in her arms to return the kiss.

For a long moment they simply enjoyed the feel of each other, then Ashley grabbed two handfuls of his shirt and tugged it up and over his head. Before they could continue, they were each embarrassed by the jaw cracking yawns they couldn't help but let out.

Staring at each other, they really had no choice but to laugh. "I guess exhausted isn't the best state to be in while trying to stage a seduction," Ashley giggled, leaning against Henry, who settled his hands on the small of her back, fingers resting lightly on the curve of her bum.

"No," he agreed, kissing her nose, which drew a big smile from her, "I think, when we do this, we should both be well rested."

She made a small humming noise. "Do you have some big plans for me, Henry?"

"I think I can come up with something," he grinned as they stepped towards the bed. There was no rush and he wanted things to be right before they took that next step. It was a big one, after all, and he couldn't think of anyone he'd rather be with than Ashley.

They had never been the All-American family and they certainly weren't a cookie cutter couple, but what they were worked for them. And that was what really mattered.

Comments, pretty please?


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